House 1219

The plot is in a residential area of low density, where the majority are garden houses. It had a light and continuous slope which permitted a great sun orientation. The urban regulations allowed to build more than it was needed, allowing to build up to two floors with the only restriction to leave a distance of 3/6 meters from the borders.

The main restriction was caused by the geotechnical study, which showed that the first meters underground had a very low resistance. To avoid a deep foundation, not wanted for economic and environmental reasons, we had to search for another solution. We rejected the solution of a light construction for being more expensive and because we thought it was more important to gain interior thermic inertia, for a better passive behaviour. So we opted for one that distributed homogeneously the forces of the terrain. For the structure, This system allowed us to adjust the forces supported to the maximum, so that by having the more weight, would increase its thermic inertia.

Finally the house was only elevated one floor and the light slope was corrected by the exceeding ground after constructing the foundations.

We always treated any problem as opportunities to take advantages of them.

The program is distributed in ten equal spaces of 3,5 x 5,12 meters. This allows a great freedom when imagining the organization of it, creating rooms which could be independent or shared as a single space. Those spaces are determined only by its structure and materiality, no interior finishing’s, combining brick bearing walls, concrete floor and ceramic tile ceilings. We pursued an architecture which responded to the minimum and basic needs, but allowed at the same time a maximum potential of uses. The house remains an infrastructure where the users chose their own way of life.

The house was oriented South-East searching the best solar caption during the winter, and having the easiest sun protection during the summer. Nevertheless, this same orientation allowed the best cross ventilation inside the house, and a protection from the north-west winds. The solar protection was solved with a vegetal protection, a vertical garden, a transition between the interior and the exterior, organized like little chapels constructed by wood strips which protect the windows of the house.

Due to thermic capacity, we can assure an excellent thermic comfort without any air conditioned.
Regarding the landscape, the construction is elegantly short and long, which combined with the vegetal protection, lowers its visual impact so that it becomes a part of the plot. The garden and the house are become a unity, so that living in the house, is living in the garden.